Yes, I Care For You
by ShanniMc
Summary: A short story based off of episode 12, "Home". The first chapter is Kahlan's thoughts on what Richard is saying. There will be a new scene at the end too. If you didn't notice, I'm not that great at summaries
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I have gotten around to finally reading the series, which I love and think is amazing! But this is totally based off episode 12, "Home". It's mostly Kahlan's thoughts (which are italicized) about what's going on with Richard, although, there will be a new scene in the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of the Seeker

* * *

Yes, I Care For You

"Yes, I care for you Anna." Richard continued to talk, and stare, at the moon. The Lying Moon that had him under a spell in which put him in a dream-like state and had him spilling all their secrets to Darken Rahl.

"Anna? Who's Anna?" Kahlan blurted out. _Kahlan, what are you doing, are you jealous of some woman Richard knows? But he just said he cared for her...but so what, Richard is a caring person, he cares about a lot of people. There's no need to get jealous. Especially at a time like this, especially since you told him yourself that you didn't have any feeling for him..._

Richard, apparently still talking to this Anna girl, said, "I will always care for yo-" but the "you" was cut off, his lips were still moving though.

Zedd and Kahlan gave each other a quizzical look.

_What happened? Why did he just stop and why are his lips still moving? What could have stopped him? He's just been talking to this Anna person...unless he's doing what I think he's doing...no, your just letting your heart take over your sense. I'm sure once Richard gets out of this he'll explain everything once he gets out of this. If he gets out of this._

There were a few minutes of silence from Richard before he said, "No."

_No what?_

"Actually I did marry somebody else." Richard continued after a moments pause.

_Why is he talking about when he "got married"? How close is Richard with her...?_

"Well, not really. It's complicated. A powerful witch put a spell on me that made anybody who looked at me think I was somebody else. Even Kahlan. "

_Yes, that evil witch woman, Shota fooled me into thinking Gryff was actually Richard, I should have figured it out from the start. And then I wouldn't have almost kissed Gryff and then tell him how we couldn't be together when it wasn't really for him to know. _

"They all thought I was Gryff, the son of a wealthy merchant, betrothed to a girl named Bronwyn." Richard informed Anna.

"Nooo. No."-_No what? Urgh, this is so frustrating!-_ "I had to get out of there, Zedd and Kahlan were on their way to the ancient ruin city of Kalabra, where Darken Rahl was massing hundreds of men." _Richard, where are you going with this…_

"Yes. It turned out to be something more important than we've ever imagined. It was the second box of Orden." Richard revealed.

"Richard!" _No, Richard, Rahl is trying to find out about the third box!_

Zedd took a sharp intake of breath, "Just as I feared. Rahl is trying to find out where the box is."

"Richard, don't say anymore."_ Not that you can really hear me._

"You see, each one of these boxes contain an unbelievably powerful magic. Rahl had the first box, he found the second at Kalabra. All through the dreams Zedd and Kahlan kept telling me, if he got all three, he would have the power to enslave the world. We had to get the third box before Rahl did." Richard said, unaware that he was going to inadvertently tell Darken Rahl where the third box was.

"Richard!"_ No, don't! _

"The box was in the treasure room of Tamarang. This heavily guarded castle in the Midlands. The only way in was for Zedd to enter a competition to be an entertainer at Princess Violet's birthday party. But apparently Princess Violet was very hard to please"

"She was a brat, that's what she was." Zedd interjected.

"Once Zedd was inside the castle, he managed to steal the key to the treasure room. He used his magic to turn an ordinary spice box into a perfect copy of the third box of Orden. But that wasn't the end of the story, Zedd gave the box to Violet's poor servant girl, Rachel, but she had to hide the box from Violet. Violet had very sharp eyes. If they caught Rachel, they would have boiled her alive in molten lead. Even though she was a little girl, she was one of the bravest people I've ever met. I finally had the third box of Orden in my hands." Richard continued telling Rahl everything, "We were heading to a place where Zedd though he could hide it away safe when we passed through a forest crawling with D'Haran soldiers. I broke away from the others and found a place to bury the box. Just for a little while, until things quieted down."

"He's going to tell them where it is. Richard." Kahlan tried shaking him again, but of course, to no avail.

"I hid it under a tree, a few leagues west of Trollsbridge."

"No."

_Richard, why to you have to be so specific!?_ _Oh… it's my job to protect him from things like this. I should have been watching him more closely! Especially what he was staring at… But no, I had to get wrapped up in just watching him sleep. Kahlan, you're letting your heart get in the way of things again. _

"What does it matter what kind of tree?"

_It matters because it's Rahl trying to find out where the box is Richard!_

"How do you know about algars? They only grow in the Midlands, not here." Richard inquired.

_Because it's Rahl! Come on Richard, keep asking questions, you can figure this out!_

"I know this is crazy but back there in my dream, or whatever it was, the fate of the world depended on nobody knowing where that box is and...I don't know it just feels wrong to tell anyone where it is." Richard admitted.

_Good, don't._

"No, Anna, it wasn't a lie."

_What did she say? Oh, Richard. I have to do something…_

"I'm here Richard. I'm right here! Come back to me." Kahlan pleaded.

"Its no use the spell of the Lying Moon is impenetrable." Zedd bitterly admitted.

_You've been sitting there is silence for almost this whole time and all you can say is that "its no use."? Some first wizard you are…_

Kahlan was about to speak her mind but shook her head. _Kahlan, think of the solution, not the problem._ _Maybe he can hear us but just can't do anything about it, it's worth a try. I have to try._

"No...no. I can get through. I know that I can. Richard, it's me, Kahlan. Don't listen to what they're telling you, remember all the things we've been through. Think of me Richard. I'm right here. I need you Richard, I need you here with me... That night, in the forest, I never wanted that kiss to end. And the next day, when you stopped me on the path...but that was a lie. This is the truth...I love you Richard." While she said this she though of some of the moments she's shared with Richard since she met him and though of how much she loved him and let those memories and feelings flow into him, "Richard, come back."

"It's a kind of tree that doesn't grow near here." Richard continued on, totally oblivions to what Kahlan just said.

"Noo." Zedd cried desperately.

_No, he's going to say it, he's going to say it!_

Kahlan tried again, "Please come back to me. I love you Richard."

"You'd like it, it blossoms..." Richard trailed off, thankfully, before he could give any more information.

_He hasn't said it yet, we can, I can, still get him out of this. I have to get him out of this_

Kahlan cupped her hands around Richard face, gazing into his eyes, while a tear fell from her own and she tried to bring him back using a different tactic, "You are the seeker. Whatever lies they're telling you, use your inner power, the power to see the truth." She paused, "See it. See the truth"

Zedd and Kahlan then sat there, staring at Richard, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for Richard to either tell Rahl where the box was or to, hopefully, break the spell.

"Noooooo!" Richard suddenly bolted up and yelled.

_Yes! We did it! Well, I guess we did, I'll have to ask him later what got him out of it…But the point is that he didn't tell Rahl where the box is!_

Richard turned his head to each of them, "Zedd, Kahlan. We need to get the box, fast!" He jumped up and started off to the box's hiding place.

Zedd and Kahlan shared a smile of relief, got up and ran after Richard.

They just ran without saying a word to each other.

Once Richard stopped he dived to the base of a tree and started digging in haste.

_I should ask Richard to teach me to identify trees, it could come in handy. I should ask him after we find out what exactly happened to him in this "dream" and after I find out if he could actually hear what I said…_

Kahlan's thoughts were brought back to the present situation once Richard uncovered the box and took it out of its hole in the ground. They all exchanged sighs and smiles of relief that they had the box back. Richard gave the box to Zedd, got up, and they began walking back to camp.

Zedd was the one to ask Richard what had happened.

Richard ran his hand through his hair and told him, "I don't really know how it happened. I was looking at the stars and the moon. I had noticed how these three stars were arranged right in the crescent of the moon, and then I fell asleep."

Before he could start his next sentence, Zedd said to him, "Those three starts arranged like they were apart of a spell called the spell of the Lying Moon. It is an extremely difficult and rare spell that puts a person into a dream-state in which the person casting the spell, in this case, Darken Rahl and his wizard, can trick the victim into revealing almost anything.

Richard nodded at the information and then said, "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I just want to think and go to sleep. Although, I don't know if I want to every close my eyes in case I wake up again to find that all this was a dream or to find that a spell had been put over me again."

_Why is he being so quiet? What happened to him there? Well, I don't want to go against his wishes, it must be chaos inside his head, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out._

"Don't worry Richard, we won't let that happen." Kahlan assured him. _I won't let anything happen to you._

With that Richard laid his head on his pillow and gave Kahlan a smile before he closed his eyes.

* * *

**So that's the first part. I would like to point out something though, why did Kahlan go, "Who's Anna?" when she did, I mean Richard had said her name 3 times already. But whatever, it's just a little thing that irked me. Anyway... hope you enjoyed and will send me some reviews (pretty please with a cherry on top :) I try to finish up the next chapter soon. **

**P. S. Thanks to Kryptonian250, WaterLilies93, Lyndz13, and LOCISVU for being the first ones to review, I give you all virtual cookies, which are really yummy, almost as yummy as Craig shirtless ;) so if you want some, REVIEW!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

The next day

The three of them had been walking along the trail for almost half an hour and Richard still hadn't said anything since they set off. So Kahlan said, "You've been awfully quiet."

"Ah, I've just been thinking, if you really exists, if Zedd's really a wizard, not the chicken-man of Blackthorn Hill."

Zedd gave a chuckle before Richard said, "If my dad really is dead."

To that, Zedd put his hand on Richard's shoulder.

Poor Richard, that must have really hurt, thinking his dad has come back to life and to then realize he's really dead. It's like he died twice.

Kahlan then asked the question her and Zedd were itching to know the answer to, "So, how did you know it was a trick? What brought you out of it?"

"As real as it was, in every way, nothing in my life has been more real than you. And right when I was about to tell Anna where the box was, I suddenly, absolutely knew you existed. I knew because, I felt...I felt your love for me."

And with that, Richard quickened his pace to catch up with Zedd, leaving Kahlan to ponder on what to do next.

After walking for a few hours, they decided to stop and rest for a bit. Richard said that he had seen evidence of a stream not too far from there so Zedd proposed that he and Kahlan should go find it and get some fresh water.

They agreed to it and immediately set off. They hardly talked except for a few sentences pertaining to where they were going.

They soon found it after walking up a small hill in which they were able to spot it below.

The way down to the stream was pretty steep, there were moments when Richard and Kahlan had grasp onto each other and surrounding trees to keep themselves from loosing their footing.

After a slow descent they finally reached the bottom and went over to the stream. The water was nice and clear and once they splashed some water on their faces they found it to be cool and refreshing as well.

_Kahlan looked over at Richard. He's been so quiet, too quiet, and he seems so withdrawn. What can I do to brighten his day...?_ A smile appeared on Kahlan's face as she came up with an idea. _Hmmm...Should I... _

Kahlan dipped her hands back into the water and then splashed Richard right in the face.

Richard fell back in surprise with his mouth gaping open. He wiped the water out of his eyes and then shook it out of his hair while getting back to his knees, "Kahlan! What was that for!"

"You've been so quiet and tense since last night, I thought I should just, well, wake you up again." She plainly stated.

"Really?" Richard said, his eyebrows making a "v", "Well I'll just have to fix that then." Then Richard retaliated, splashing Kahlan.

"Ah!" Kahlan exclaimed, wiping the water out of her own eyes and getting her wet hair off her face.

"Is that awake enough for you." Richard laughed.

_Kahlan joined in the laughter. Oh, how wonderful his laugh is, it's great to see him smiling again._

They splashed each other a bit more, laughing the whole time, stopping after Kahlan had splashed him, getting his whole shirt wet.

"When we get back Zedd will think I fell in the stream or something." Richard said, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair, "My shirt is absolutely soaked." He then proceeded to take it off so he could wring it out.

When she turned to look at him, Kahlan's knees became weak for a second but she was able to keep herself up. _Deep breath Kahlan, calm down, you've seen him with his shirt off before, it's no big deal._

Kahlan turned her head and gathered dripping her mass of hair so she could squeeze the water out of it, her long sleeves had found themselves in the water and were soaked, but otherwise, her clothes hadn't gotten as wet as Richard's. _He was probably holding back._

Kahlan was having difficulty wringing out her hair, her sleeves, heavy with water, kept sticking to her dress and were therefore getting that even more wet. Whenever she detached one from it, the other would stick itself to the dress. Plus, as she would turn her head to take care of the situation, her hair was being whipped around, and was stick to her face. _This is one of those moments that I wish I didn't have to wear this dress all the time, one of the downs of being a Confessor. _

Richard saw that Kahlan was struggling and starting to get frustrated so after he hung his shirt over a tree branch he went over to her and, standing behind her, started gathering her hair from her face. Kahlan, who wasn't aware of his presence behind her, gasped at the contact and spun around, wrenching her hair from Richard's grasp and getting even more strands of hair stuck to her face.

"Richard, I didn't know you were there."

"Sorry. I saw you getting frustrated and thought I'd help hold your hair out of the way."

"Oh, yea, sure. Thanks" Kahlan offered him a small smile and turned back around.

Richard went back to collecting her luscious hair, his fingers gently caressing her neck and face. Kahlan closed her eyes at the touch. This is another down to being a Confessor.

While Kahlan squeezed the water from her sleeves Richard did the same to her hair, but he was far more careful since he didn't want to pull too hard.

Once they finished Richard said, "It's a beautiful day, why don't we just lie down on the grass and dry out."

"Okay." It is quite nice out and I would like to just lie down and take in the sights.

They decided to lay down up the hill a bit so that they were on an angle and could therefore not just look at the sky, but get a panoramic view of the tall mountains in the distance.

They had been laying there for a couple of minutes before Kahlan's curiosity overcame her and she asked, "So Richard, what happened when you were under the spell?"

Richard let out a sigh, he turned on his side so he could face her, and then started telling her his tale, "When I woke up, I was back home. Michael was there. I asked him what happened, where you and Zedd were, but he just said that I had fallen off a cliff and hit my head. He said that it was all just a dream. He even said that my dad was alive. I, of course, said that it wasn't possible, but then my dad came into the room." Richard paused for a second, he turned his head in the direction of the mountains, and then went on, "When he appeared, I started thinking, 'What if that was all a dream?' I admit, I wanted to accept the thought because that would mean that my dad was alive, that Rahl wasn't hunting me, I didn't have to fight and kill anyone, and I wouldn't have the responsibility of being the Seeker on my shoulders. But I had a feeling in my gut that something wasn't right and then it sunk in, that if it all was a dream," he stopped and turned his head back to Kahlan, looking into her eyes, "that would mean that you didn't exist."

"That's when we realized something was wrong." Kahlan told him, "I had noticed you were talking in your sleep with your eyes open and when you said that I didn't exist I tried waking you up, which woke Zedd up, and then he figured out that you were under a spell. I gather you couldn't hear us."

Richard shook his head, "No, I couldn't. But you could hear me?"

"Yup." Kahlan looked down when she said this. Again, I tell you something and you're either not really there or can't hear me. And I don't know if that's good or bad.

"Oh. Well I guess I don't have to go that much into detail then. So, anyway, I obviously went over to Zedd's then to find out that he wasn't even a wizard and he too told me that I just imagined everything that happened after I met you, so I left."

"Then you came across Anna."

"Yes. She was a close friend of mine back in Hartland when we were younger."

"I heard."

Richard hesitated for the slightest second before he continued, -Dang it Kahlan, you didn't have to say that, that hesitation means that he noticed, noticed your jealousy that you shouldn't even have in the first place. -"Well, like I said, I had this feeling in my gut that I just shouldn't tell her where the box was. And when she said algars, it only added to my doubts that what was going on wasn't real. Plus, she was quite persistent with her questions, it just wasn't like her. Then when I was about to tell her I just felt this sensation and I knew that this just wasn't real. Then, I suddenly saw Rahl's face instead of Anna's and I woke up. Oh, and these drops of water just fell onto my hand, but I don't really know what that was."

Those were my tears. But I won't tell him that, what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

"That's interesting and scary, you were so close to telling Rahl where the box was, and Zedd and I thought that we might lose you. I don't want to think what would have happened if I failed you and the world." I don't want to think what would happen to me if I lost you.

"Well you didn't fail and that's what matters, I'm right here and I don't plan on leaving you or Zedd. Willingly or without a fight, that is."

They lay there, staring into each other's eyes when suddenly the sound of a twig breaking and leaves rustling broke the silence. They both sprang up at the noise, Richard had his hand of the hilt of his sword.

At the top of the hill their eyes found half a dozen D'Haran soldiers, apparently, one of them had lost their footing on the steep slope and tried to grab onto a tree branch.

Seeing that their cover was blown, one of the bigger soldiers said, "Sorry to interrupt your little moment there, but, GET THEM!"

While the soldiers descended the slope, Richard and Kahlan got their respective weapons out and positioned themselves for the onslaught. Richard advanced a step in front of Kahlan. What is he doing? We have the advantage waiting down here. Oh, wait, I know, he's being chivalrous and overprotective.

Kahlan moved in front of Richard. It's my job to protect him. She gave him a look, a look that says, you better not move another inch.

Richard let out a sigh of surrender but he still moved forward so that he was right next to her.

Kahlan rolled her eyes at him and then sprang into action, quickly dispatching the first man to get to her with a knife to the heart. The next one was more of a challenge and took longer to kill. The third one to come at her was even harder since he had more time to gather his senses and prepare for the attack.

Meanwhile, Richard had taken care of the first two soldiers that came after him with a spinning slice across their midsections. He then went after the third one with an upward thrust into his ribs. The last two men of the bunch had then gotten to Richard but even two of them together couldn't overcome him and were now on the defense.

The smaller of the two yelled over to him comrade, who was fighting Kahlan, "Finish her off already and help us!"

The call from his fellow soldier distracted the man for a second, just enough time for Kahlan to finish him off. The other one who was fighting with Richard and was closer to Kahlan, angered by the man's incompetence to take care of a mere woman, fended off an oncoming blow and swung his sword around to hit Kahlan in the back of the head with the pommel. Kahlan didn't have enough time to defend herself and crumpled to the ground at the impact.

"Kahlan!" Richard yelled. His increased rage fueled the sword's power and he drove his sword through the man's back while he was still turned towards Kahlan. The smaller soldier who had cried out for help saw that he was the only one left and started to drop his sword in surrender but it was to late for him, Richard and his sword were already committed to killing him. Richard swung the sword around his head and brought it around, slicing the man's neck.

Before the man last man even fell down, Richard was kneeling at Kahlan's side. He tried gently shaking her but the only response he got was a faint moan. He then put a hand to the back of her head, he felt a small warm spot and when he brought back his hand there was a tiny puddle of blood on it.

"No, Kahlan." He pleaded. Deciding it would be best to get her to Zedd, Richard ran over to get his clothes. He quickly returned the Sword of Truth to it's scabbard and put on his vest and placed his shirt to the back of her head so she wouldn't loose a lot of blood. He carefully picked her up and started up the steep hill, taking his time, making sure that he wouldn't fall and cause further damage.

"Come on Kahlan, don't fail me now!" Richard pleaded while he ran to where they had set up their temporary camp, "I hope they didn't attack Zedd."

More than halfway to the camp, Richard spotted Zedd in the distance.

"Zedd!"

Once they met each other, Richard was happy to see that the wizard was unscathed, a bit out of breath, but as far as he could see, not hurt.

Zedd saw Kahlan's limp form in Richard's arms, "Richard, what happened?"

"I'll tell you as soon as you heal her! She's bleeding in the back of the head."

"Ah, yes, of course! Lay her down."

Richard obeyed Zedd's command and gently laid his Confessor on the ground.

They both went to their knees at her side. When Zedd was ready, Richard pulled away his shirt, which now had a small bloodstain on it. Zedd put his hand to the back of her head and held it there for a minute while he sat there with his eyes closed in concentration and breathing deeply. When he opened his eyes and took his hand away Richard held his breath and when she finally fluttered her eyes open, he exhaled and gave her a smile.

He turned his head to Zedd and said, "Thanks."

"It's what I'm here for." Zedd simply responded.

Richard turned his attention back to Kahlan, "Kahlan, are you okay?"

_Sure, I just got hit in the head with a sword, which knocked me unconscious and then healed, which makes me feel a bit odd right now, something like, I should be happy that I don't feel a thing and it doesn't seem right that I'm not in any pain whatsoever. Well, physical pain that is._

"Me? What about you? What happened?" Kahlan said in a groggily voice. _I almost failed you, again. _

"Well you were obviously knocked out, so I carried you to Zedd, and he healed you." He informed her.

"So you were able to finish them off?"

"Of course, I killed the one who hit you before you hit the ground and then the last one got a bit scarred, so he was easy to take care of, especially since I had to get you some help."

"Was that all of them?"

"Yes, as far as we know." Richard, subconsciously, looked around, scanning the forest for more soldiers to pop out from behind a tree. "Zedd, what about you? Did you encounter any soldiers?"

"Yes, actually, but it was only one lonely laggard that was scouting the area. When he came across me I simply blasted him away and then went looking for you two to see if you were okay."

Richard nodded at the information.

"I'm sorry Richard, I shouldn't have let that happen to me, that was a foolish mistake on my part."

"There's no need to be sorry, we all make mistakes." He assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't afford to make mistakes."

The look on her face and especially her eyes, made Richard freeze up.

When Zedd spoke, only then was Richard able to unfreeze and look away, "Well, after that, I think it would be best to get to the crypt by tomorrow night, the sooner the box is safe and hidden, the better."

Richard and Kahlan nodded their heads in agreement and started to stand up. Richard got to his feet first and then held a hand out to help Kahlan up. Once she got up, she swayed a bit and Richard immediately put his arm around her waist to steady her, "Whoa, you sure you should walk yet? I mean I'm not really aware of the after effects of a healing after getting a blow to the head like that."

She looked at him, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine, I just didn't totally gather my senses yet."

His lips curved into a slight frown, "Okay, but let me say that if I didn't worry about you, you probably wouldn't be standing here right now, so I'm not going to stop caring anytime soon."

Kahlan let out a sigh. _He really is a rare person, a rare person I care about, who I care for more than anything._

* * *

**And they travel a bit more and then stop and Richard reads from his seeker book/PSP/GameBoy/anything else people thought it was when they saw the picture, and so begins that super steamy episode, Revenant... Anyway, hope you enjoyed, hope I did a good job, but what's with all this hoping and praying? Why don't you just tell me in a review? :)**


End file.
